Royal Gold expands Nevada ground

In an effort to expand its exploration portfolio, Royal Gold (NASDAQ) has acquired more acreage on the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend in Nevada.

The acquisition includes the 30-claim Signal Peak project, west of Eureka, plus two properties in Lander Cty.: the NAD, which comprises 113 claims near South Pipeline, and the TUB, which is made up of 10 claims south of Battle Mountain.

Royal Gold controls 12,300 acres on the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend.

In nearby Utah, regional exploration has led to the acquisition of the Blue Jay property, consisting of 97 patented and unpatented claims, as well as the Indian Peak property, which includes 15 claims in Beaver Cty. Drilling and geophysical work on these properties are scheduled for the end of this year and early 1996.

Meanwhile, drilling continues on the Long Valley gold project in Mono Cty., Calif., where continuity between the Hilton Creek and Southeast zones has been confirmed. Based on a cutoff grade of 0.01 oz. gold per ton, the indicated resource for the property would be 49.6 million tons grading 0.018 oz. Based on a cutoff of 0.02 oz., that figure would be 11.8 million tons at 0.036 oz. per ton, or 449,500 contained ounces.